Alex Palmeri of LegitStreetCars has an obsession with rescuing dead cars. By dead, I mean abandoned, owner-lost-hope, ready-to-sell for a dime kind of vehicles. Most times, he’s lucky to bring them to life (on site) by doing a few touch-ups. Sometimes he’s not so fortunate. He recently rescued an abandoned Fox Body Ford Mustang GT and got it running. In his latest episode, he does the first wash and detailing after 25 years of sitting outside.
The Ford Mustang is perhaps the most iconic muscle car in America. It’s survived hell and fury for nearly 60 years and remains a top contender in its segment in sales and performance.
Palmeri’s find is a third-generation Ford Mustang GT (Fox Body). It was produced by Ford Motors between 1978 and 1993. It gets the name ‘Fox Body’ because it was developed on the blue oval’s Fox platform.
Palmeri struck classic pony car gold when he discovered this 143,000 mile (160,934 kilometers) 1987 Ford Mustang GT that had been sitting in a field for 25 years. It’s the crème-de la Crème of its generation powered by a 5-liter V8 engine.
The bulk of the job was firing up the engine for the first time. While they were able to get the engine turning on site, it was the constant break-down queen.
Getting an abandoned car with a healthy engine to fire isn’t anything to talk about amongst experienced mechanics. But nothing appeals to the eye more than a 'before and after' detailing comparison of a rotting pony car.
Palmeri was also getting ready for a car show and planned on showcasing the detailed Fox Body Mustang GT at the event.
For shock value, the LegitStreetCars team put tape across the Mustang and detailed one section to show what a professional detailing job looks against a quarter of a century of sitting abandoned in an open field. We’d love to spill the beans on the detailing process, but we’ll let you judge Palmeri’s detailing job on your own.
PS: Getting the break-down queen to the car show took a little convincing.
Humphrey is a car enthusiast whose love and passion for automobiles extended into collecting, writing, driving, and working on cars. He got his passion for cars from his Dad, who spent thousands of hours working on his old junky 1970 E20 Toyota Corolla. Years later, he would end up doing the same with a series of lemons he’s owned throughout his adult life. Full profile
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